DeVon

Edwards

#27

Safety/Cornerback

Height
5'9"

Weight
180

Year
Redshirt Senior

City/State
Covington, Ga.

High School
Alcovy

Career Statistics &dtrif;&rtrif;

Bio

CAREER: Lettered four seasons (2013-14-15-16) ... played in 44 career games with 37 consecutive starts to end career ... recorded 327 tackles (182 solo), 12.0 TFL, 10.5 sacks, 22 PBUs, eight QB pressures, six caused fumbles and five INTs ... returned 74 kickoffs for 2,060 yards (27.84 ypr) and six TDs ... team captain in 2016 ... career ended September 24, 2016, with a torn left anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments during Duke’s 38-35 win at Notre Dame ... All-America selection as a return specialist in 2013 (second team pick by the Walter Camp Foundation, third team honoree by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele, honorable mention by Sports Illustrated) and 2014 and 2015 (honorable mention by Sports Illustrated) ... three-time All-ACC honoree as a return specialist (third team/2013; first team/2014; second team/2015) and a two-time honorable mention pick as safety (2014 and 2015) ... named a 2016 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy ... second team CoSIDA Academic All-America and first team CoSIDA Academic All-District III selection as a junior ... four-time Academic All-ACC selection (2013-14-15-16) ... became the 19th player in Duke history to reach the 300-tackle barrier ... on Duke’s career charts, ranks first in kickoff return average, first in kickoff returns for TDs, second in kickoff return yards, tied for third in INT returns for TDs, fifth in kickoff returns, tied for sixth in caused fumbles, tied for 11th in PBUs and 17th in tackles ... played 3,031 snaps at Duke ... finished one kickoff return TD short of the ACC and NCAA record of seven held by C.J. Spiller of Clemson and Tyron Carrier of Houston... played 3,097 career snaps ... shares ACC and NCAA record for longest kickoff return (100 yards vs. N.C. State, 2013 & vs. Georgia Tech, 2015) ... shares Duke single-game record for INT returns for TDs (2 vs. N.C. State, 2013) ... one of two players in NCAA history to score TDs via INT return on consecutive snaps from scrimmage (25 & 45 yards against N.C. State in 2013), joining former Duke CB Leon Wright (Army, 2009 ... holds Duke single-season records for kickoff return average (30.21 in 2013) and kickoff returns for TDs (3 in 2015) ... shares Duke single-season record for INT returns for TDs (2 in 2013) ... reached double-figure tackles 14 times, including a career-high 15 stops versus both North Carolina (2014) and Virginia (2015).

2016: Played in and started all four before suffering left knee injury that ended career … totaled 29 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, two quarterback pressures, one pass breakup and one caused fumble … also returned two kickoffs for 41 yards (20.50) … recorded 10+ tackles in consecutive games against Wake Forest (13) and Northwestern (12) … booked 2.0 TFL versus the Demon Deacons and 1.0 at the Wildcats … all TFL were sacks … caused year’s fumble versus Wake Forest and credited with two quarterback pressures at Northwestern … returned one kickoff 20 yards against Wake Forest and ran one back 21 yards at Notre Dame … a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete and Campbell Trophy finalist … member of the AFCA Good Works Team … semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy … on the field for 222 snaps.

2015: Honorable mention All-America pick as a return specialist by Sports Illustrated ... All-ACC choice by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association as both a return specialist (3rd team) and safety (Honorable mention) ... All-ACC selection by the league’s head coaches as both a return specialist (2nd team) and safety (Honorable mention) ... second team CoSIDA Academic All-America choice ... first team CoSIDA One Academic All-District III honoree ... Academic All-ACC selection ... two-time ACC Specialist of the Week pick following games against Georgia Tech and Virginia ... recipient of the program’s the Willis Aldridge Award as the team’s top defensive back ... one of five players nationally to earn both All-America and Academic All-America honors, joining teammate Ross Martin, Baylor’s Spencer Drango, Oklahoma’s Ty Darlington and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey ... started all 13 games (weeks 1-11 at S; week 12 & bowl game at CB) ... carded 101 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 quarterback sack, one INT, six PBUs and four QB pressures ... returned 24 kickoffs for 700 yards (29.17) and three TDs ... set school single-season record for kickoff returns for TDs while posting the second-highest single-season mark for kickoff return average ... in the ACC, ranked first in kickoff return average, first in kickoff returns for TDs and 11th in tackles per game (7.77) ... nationally, ranked tied for second in kickoff returns for TDs, fifth in kickoff return average and tied for 98th in tackles per game ... hit double digits in the tackle column three times against Virginia Tech (15), North Carolina (12) and Northwestern (11) ... logged nine stops versus Boston College, Miami and Pittsburgh ... lone INT of the year came against Northwestern ... posted single-game TFLs versus Tulane and Miami ... had two PBUs in wins over Wake Forest and Indiana ... carded three kickoff returns for TDs against Tulane (95 yards), Georgia Tech (100) and Virginia (94) ... teamed with LB Dwayne Norman (114) and S Jeremy Cash (101) to form the ACC’s only trio with 100+ tackles each ... on the field for 1,084 snaps.

2014: Honorable mention All-America pick as a return specialist by Sports Illustrated ... All-ACC choice by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association as both a return specialist (1st team) and safety (Honorable mention) ... Academic All-ACC selection ... Capital One Academic All-District III honoree ... ACC Specialist of the Week following Duke’s win over Pittsburgh ... recipient of the program’s K.D. Kennedy Iron Devil Award for playing the most snaps (1,068) ... started all 13 games ... posted 133 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 quarterback sacks, one INT, nine PBUs, five caused fumbles and two QB pressures ... returned 29 kickoffs for 745 yards (25.69) and one TD ... in the ACC, ranked second in tackles, second in caused fumbles per game (0.38), third in tackles per game (10.23), fourth in kickoff return average, 14th in passes defended per game (0.77) and 20th in sacks per game (0.35) ... nationally, ranked seventh in caused fumbles per game, 18th in tackles per game and 20th in kickoff return average ... on Duke’s single-season charts, totals ranked tied for second for caused fumbles, seventh for kickoff return yards, seventh for kickoff return average, tied for ninth for kickoff returns and tied for 18th in total tackles ... reached double figures in the tackle column seven times including a season-high 15 stops versus North Carolina ... other double digit tackle totals came against Troy (14), Arizona State (14), Wake Forest (13), Virginia Tech (12), Virginia (10) and Pittsburgh (10) ... in the Hyundai Sun Bowl against Arizona State, had a game-high 14 tackles with one sack and one caused fumble ... also against the Sun Devils, set Hyundai Sun Bowl record for kickoff return yards (135) while matching the event standard for kickoff returns (5) ... matched the second-highest single-game total for caused fumbles in school history with a pair in the road win at Troy ... lone INT of the year came against Kansas ... returned four kickoffs for a season-high 160 yards and one TD in the win at Pittsburgh ... kickoff return for a TD covered 99 yards to match the sixth-longest kickoff return in Duke history ... return average of 40.00 against the Panthers established the seventh-highest single-game mark in school history ... on the field for 1,068 snaps.

2013: All-America selection as a kick return specialist by the Walter Camp Foundation (2nd team), Athlon Sports (3rd team), Phil Steele (3rd team) and Sports Illustrated (HM) ... Freshman All-America choice as a kick return specialist by Sporting News (1st team), Phil Steele (1st team) and Athlon Sports (2nd team) ... third team All-ACC pick by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association as a return specialist ... Academic All-ACC selection ... finished second in the balloting for ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association ... finished tied for third in the balloting for ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year by the league’s head coaches ... played in all 14 games with seven starts ... started the final seven games of the season ... recorded 64 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, three INTs and six PBUs ... returned 19 kickoffs for 574 yards (30.21) and two TDs ... returned two INTs for TDs ... earned Nagurski National Player of the Week, Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and ACC Rookie of the Week following 10-tackle, 2-INT, 1-PBU performance versus N.C. State that included three TDs on a 100-yard KOR, 25-yard INT return and 45-yard INT return ... against the Wolfpack, became the second player in NCAA history, joining former Duke CB Leon Wright (vs. Army, 2009), to score TDs via INT return on consecutive snaps from scrimmage and became the first player in the Football Bowl Subdivision to score three non-offensive TDs since September 20, 2003, when Oklahoma’s Antonio Perkins returned three punts for scores against UCLA in Norman ... in the ACC, ranked second in kickoff return average and 19th in passes defended per game (0.64) ... nationally, ranked third in kickoff return average ... one of four players nationally with multiple kickoff returns for TDs of 99+ yards ... reached double figures in the tackle column twice against N.C. State and Virginia Tech (12) ... in Duke’s 27-25 win over North Carolina that clinched the ACC Coastal Division championship, carded eight tackles, returned a kickoff 99 yards for a TD and sealed the victory with an INT with just 13 seconds remaining in the fourth period ... set school single-season record for kickoff return average (minimum 18 returns) ... matched school single-season record for KO returns for TDs, equaling the standard set by Randy Jones in 1990 ... matched school single-season record for INT returns for TDs, equaling the standard set by Gordon Carver (1945), Ernie Jackson (1971), Wyatt Smith (1989), John Talley (2004) and Leon Wright (2009) ... tied for the team lead with 10 tackles on special teams ... played 723 snaps.

2012: Did not see game action.

2015 DUKE TRACK & FIELD: Member of Duke’s track and field program in the spring of 2015 ... at the Duke Invitational on April 11, placed second in the 100-meters (10.61) while posting the fourth-fastest time in school history ... on April 24, ran the second leg of the 4x100 relay team at the Penn Relays as Duke finished 19th with a time of 41.63.

2014 DUKE TRACK & FIELD: Member of Duke’s track and field program in the spring of 2014 ... in first collegiate meet on April 5, the VertKlasse Meeting in High Point, N.C., posted a 100-meter time of 10.73 ... combined with football teammates Issac Blakeney, Ryan Smith and Josh Snead to comprise Duke’s 4x100 relay team and posted a time of 41.32, then the second-fastest mark in Duke history ... at the ACC Championship meet on April 18 in Chapel Hill, N.C., teamed with Blakeney, Smith and Marcus Wright to place sixth in the 4x100 relay with a time of 41.15, marking the second-fastest time in Duke history ... teamed with Blakeney, Wright and Robert Rohner on Duke’s 4x200 relay team to place third in the College Men’s IC4A Championship at the Penn Relays on April 26, running time of 1:25.28.

PRIOR TO DUKE: Four-year letterman at Alcovy under coach Kirk Hoffman ... helped Alcovy to a division championship as a senior and two playoff berths in 2009 and 2011 ... as a senior, carded 49 tackles, nine PBUs and one INT while gaining 1,978 all-purpose yards with 20 total TDs en route to garnering Region 3-AAAA Offensive Player of the Year honors ... second team all-state pick by the Georgia Sportswriters Association as a return specialist after averaging 41 yards per kickoff return and returning four kickoffs for TDs in 2011 ... set school single-season records for all-purpose yards, total TDs and kickoff returns for TDs ... also lettered in basketball, earning all-region honors.

PERSONAL: Son of James and Valarie Edwards ... born December 7, 1992 ... graduated from Duke in May, 2016 with a degree in psychology and a certificate in markets and management ... currently pursuing a master’s degree in liberal studies.